


words of praise

by Origamidragons



Series: princesses and pirate girls [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Character Study, Drabble, Gen, Post-Dressrosa, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23879761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Origamidragons/pseuds/Origamidragons
Summary: Neededused to be her most treasured word, followed byessential, followed bynecessary.She doesn't hear those words as much, anymore.
Series: princesses and pirate girls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1721038
Comments: 13
Kudos: 88
Collections: Women! Wanted Zine: Flash Fics





	words of praise

_Needed_ used to be her most treasured word, followed by _essential_ , followed by _necessary_. Every time she heard those words she’d go soft and blushing, tuck them close to her heart to savor with a smile. That was the best praise she could hope for. It let her justify herself and her continued survival, allowed her to be worthy of living. 

Every time, she’d feel triumphant, and couldn’t help thinking, _See? See, Mother? I can be helpful. I can be useful. I can be worth the cost of bread._

She doesn’t hear those words so much, anymore, now that the Donquixote Family is nothing but dust and ruin. No more ‘ _I need you to lend me some money’_ or ‘ _you’ll be necessary to the success of this mission’_ or _‘never forget the Family needs you.’_

She doesn’t mind as much as she thought she would. She hears other kinds of praise instead, these days. 

She’s learning to value _honest_. She’s learning to value _kind_ , and _hardworking_ , and _gentle_ , and _strong_.

It’s different, and it’s not always easy. Some days she feels so directionless and worthless and _useless_ that she can barely breathe, and she misses her Family, misses the direction and purpose and _worth_ they gave her. 

Sai helps. She knows he doesn’t understand, not really- he looks a little baffled whenever she confides in him, like he can’t really wrap his head around it- but he listens when she talks, and tells her that he’ll find work for her if she wants but that she’s valuable all on her own, and he says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, and she thinks someday she might even be able to believe him. She hopes so. 

In the meantime, though, she’s learning. It’s new. When she was with the Family, she _grew_ , from a child into a teenager into a woman, but she never _changed_. Law’s glares reduced her to tears at twenty-four as easily as at eight. She was already exactly who they needed her to be, when she came to them. It wouldn’t have been _useful_ , for her to change. 

So change is new. People who are kind to her without expecting anything in return are new, too, and so are all those words she’s slowly learning mean so much more than _needed_. 

She likes it. It’s good. 

She’s learning to value _happy_ , too. 

**Author's Note:**

> the first in a series of little character study drabbles for the ladies of op!
> 
> Prompt: Praise  
> Character: Baby 5  
> Word Limit: 500  
> Word Count: 399


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